1) Hopelessness

You’ve pushed and pulled and fought and clawed through the storm, but no matter what, it just doesn’t seem to end.

All your energy has been sapped—you wanted to overcome your obstacles, but they seem to be bigger than any you’ve ever come across. Eventually, you start to ask yourself: why even bother?

This point is known as hopelessness, and it is incredibly dangerous. Once you reach this point, your pain and struggle might start to become permanent, because you’ve accepted that this is your life. If you feel this way, it’s time to ask for help.

2) Quick to Anger

The strangest thing you can see is the transformation of a kind, happy-go-lucky individual into someone who is short-tempered and quick to anger.

You wonder what could have happened to that person to cause such a massive change.

No matter how nice you might be, if you’re going through something that is taking away all your emotional and mental reserves, then you will no longer have the tolerance for even the smallest annoyances in your life.

Everything from squeaky shoes to loud chewing can piss you off.

3) Crying More Often

For many of us, crying is something that we left behind in our teen years, and crying as an adult is a rare occurrence for only the most somber or joyous occasions.

As we grow older, we learn to control our emotions, and we can only be brought to the point of crying when something huge happens in our life.

But for those who have been pushed to the limit, crying might be a weekly or even a daily occurrence. A sad movie might make you cry, or even an apology from an old friend or colleague for something they did wrong.

4) Insomnia

You might think that it would naturally be easier to fall asleep when you are feeling sad or depressed, and while that might be the case, insomnia occurs when so much is going on in our thoughts that you can’t sleep at all.

Many who are struggling with demons in their head have trouble getting a good night’s rest.

5) No Motivation or Desire

You wake up at 2 pm. You fall asleep when the sun comes up. You can’t be bothered to take a shower or brush your teeth.

You don’t even care about putting on new clothes every day, and you’re starting to smell terrible.

You are either eating way too much or eating nothing at all because you have no desire to maintain a proper weight.

“Physical symptoms are common in depression, and, in fact, vague aches and pain are often the presenting symptoms of depression. These symptoms include chronic joint pain, limb pain, back pain, gastrointestinal problems, tiredness, sleep disturbances, psychomotor activity changes, and appetite changes.”

Stress can exist in your muscles, your belly, and in your mind, and can cause real, physical distress to you if not dealt with.

8) Never Ending Fatigue

Have you ever gone through a period in your life where, no matter how much you slept and no matter how little you worked, you just never seemed to have the energy to get anything done?

You might confuse fatigue with a kind of extreme tiredness, but the two are very different.

Tiredness is something that happens when you’ve done too much exercise or had a long productive day at work. This wears off when you’ve had a nice, long sleep.

But fatigue sticks with you. Fatigue can’t be shaken off with sleep or coffee, because it’s completely related to your mental state. The heavier your soul feels, the more fatigued you will be.

Before we go into 7 ways to recover from emotional exhaustion, here are some signs it could be your relationship that is doing you emotional damage. If you know it’s not that, you can quickly jump ahead to the 7 ways to overcome emotional exhaustion.

Is your partner draining you emotionally? Here are 8 signs

Image credit: Shutterstock – By Roman Kosolapov

If you find yourself exhausted following interactions with your partner, or if you aren’t looking forward to seeing them, or if you are feeling anxious about spending time with them, you might be in a relationship that leaves you emotionally drained.

There are many signs that a relationship is not good for you or your partner. If you are left reeling after a day spent thinking about your partner, it might be time to consider ending the relationship. It’s hard, but it might be for the best.

1) You think about them all the time.

Thinking about someone all the time might sound like a great thing, but if negative thoughts and concerns are bubbling up all day, that is not healthy.

If you are engaging in dialogue that leaves you wanting and not feeling energized, you need to think about your relationship from a different perspective.

2) You are exhausted physically.

You find just being around your partner leaves you feeling tired, annoyed and frustrated.

You are not sure why, and you may be confused by these feelings you are having.

Take some time to consider what is it you are exhausted by and reevaluate your relationship if you are not excited about being with them.

7 Things You Can You Do If You’re Experiencing Emotional Exhaustion

So, if you’re experiencing emotional exhaustion, how can you get yourself out of this funk?

It’s a tough question and what works for some people might not work for others. But the good news is, there are many different strategies you can try.

We’re going to go over 7 of them here:

1) Exercise

When you’re exhausted, the last thing that you’d think would help would be exercise. After all, exercise is a form of physical stress.

However, research suggests that physical stress can relieve mental stress.

Harvard Health says that aerobic exercise is key for your head, just as it is for your heart:

“Regular aerobic exercise will bring remarkable changes to your body, your metabolism, your heart, and your spirits. It has a unique capacity to exhilarate and relax, to provide stimulation and calm, to counter depression and dissipate stress. It’s a common experience among endurance athletes and has been verified in clinical trials that have successfully used exercise to treat anxiety disorders and clinical depression. If athletes and patients can derive psychological benefits from exercise, so can you.”

If thoughts and worries appear, just acknowledge them then go back to trying to be relaxed and thoughtless.

4) Concentrate on a mental device.

You could use a mantra, or a simple word, that is repeated over and over. Or you could stare at a fixed object. Whatever it is, the goal is to focus on something so you block out thoughts and distractions.

Once you get good at doing this, you’ll look forward to devoting 20 minutes to it each day.

6) Journaling

Journaling isn’t just for professional writers. People of all ages have found benefits from journaling for their mental health.

Why?

Because journaling allows you to write down your deepest emotions, thoughts, and fears. It’s a great way to understand them and release them.

In fact, research has found that journaling can reduce anxiety, improve your memory, help you sleep better, make you kinder, and can lessen depression.

7) See a therapist

It takes courage to see a therapist, but it can help to talk about your problems with a professional.

Not only is it great to express your emotions and thoughts, but they can help you see where you’re thinking is misguided or not helpful.

They can also offer you solutions that will help you create a better life.

In Conclusion

When we suffer too much, we become emotionally and mentally drained. This can cause us to feel hopeless, angry, sad and with no motivation to improve the situation.

But once you’re able to accept that you’re suffering from emotional exhaustion, you’ll lift a huge weight from your shoulders and you can begin the path to recovery.

The path to recovery can be made easier with techniques like exercise, meditation, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation.

Remember, the first step is acknowledging that you are emotionally fatigued. Once you’re able to do that, you’ll pave the path for you to recover and get back to your best.

NEW EBOOK: If you’re feeling stressed and looking for practical ways to calm down and enjoy life, then check out Hack Spirit’s eBook, The Art of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Living in the Moment. It’s the perfect introduction to mindfulness. You’ll learn what ‘mindfulness’ really is, the scientific benefits of practicing it daily, and proven techniques to be mindful throughout the day. Check it out here.

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A quick message from Lachlan Brown, the founder of Hack Spirit

In 2018, the third year of Hack Spirit, I poured thousands of hours and considerable resources into creating these articles. It's a labor of love and remains free thanks to your patronage. If you found any value in these articles, please consider supporting what I do with a donation. Your support is what helps me to continue creating more Hack Spirit articles. To make a donation, select the amount and click the "donate" button below.

I’m Lachlan Brown, the founder and editor of Hack Spirit. I love writing practical articles that help others live a more mindful and better life. I have a graduate degree in Psychology and I’ve spent the last 6 years reading and studying all I can about human psychology and practical ways to hack our mindsets. If you to want to get in touch with me, hit me up on Twitter or Facebook.